Men’s Cross Country Notches First Ever Top 10 Finish

FORT DODGE, Iowa - The Shelton State Community College men's cross country team recorded the highest finish in program history with a 10th place finish at the NJCAA Cross Country Championships on Saturday.

"The talent has been there all season - we just hadn't had a race where our top four raced well at the same time," head coach Charles Tiller said. "Today, they did. The goal was to finish in the Top 10 and we did."

Shelton State had four runners finish in the Top 70, despite temperatures in the mid 30s and the Lakeside Municipal Golf Course covered in snow. 

Freshman Logan Rogers paced the Bucs and was the highest finisher among ACCC runners with a 27th place finish. The Northside High School product posted a time of 27:40.4 on the day. 

"Logan has worked as hard as anyone in the program," Tiller said. "He's had some great races, but not consistently. He just needed to figure out how to race the 8K."

For his efforts, he earned USTFCCCA All-American status to become the first All-American in program history. 

Freshmen Drew Dykes (Cold Springs), Isaiah Crosslin (Hatton) and sophomore Brady Jones (Fayette Co) also finished in the Top 70. 

Dykes (28:16.4) finished 56th, Crosslin (28:23.1) finished 61st and Jones (28:29.8) finished 69th.

Ben Guthrie (Lincoln), Matthew Waldrop (Brookwood) and Dane Ard (Decatur) finished among the Top 250, helping the Bucs to its first Top 10 finish. 

Guthrie (30:51.2) finished 192nd, Waldrop (31:43.5) placed 238th, and Ard (31:52.1) finished 241st.

"It's so hard for all seven athletes to have their best race on the same day," Tiller added. "With our depth, we could race more aggressively today, and it paid off."

The women's team finished 31st in the championships with four runners in the Top 200.

"We struggled some today, Tiller said. "We had hoped to be Top 15, and we didn't get there. There was 3 inches of snow on the ground, which required physical strength, and we didn't have it.

"Athletes were slipping and sliding on the snow-covered ground. A number of athletes went down. That's what makes cross country fun - you have to be tough and adaptable."

The Lady Bucs were paced by freshman Hannah Berryman (Hatton), who finished 92nd (22:04.7) in the field. 

"She's a competitor," Tiller said. "She didn't let the weather get to her."

Freshman Maya Jones (Hamilton),  sophomore Hattie Hurst (Demopolis) and freshman Amari Simmons (Huntsville) were the next three finishers for the Lady Bucs.

Jones (22:34.9) finished 131st, Hurst (23:15.1) and Simmons (23:15.4) finished 166th and 167th respectively.

Freshmen Emma Heppner (Oregon), Gracie Hall (Hayleyville) and Anna Peak (Eufaula) finished among the Top 235 runners. 

Heppner (24:28.3) finished 220th, Hall (24:41.4) was 228th, and Peak (24:44.1) finished 234th.